West Side Trail Interpretive Kiosk and Sign Installation Project
(BLM News.bytes Extra)
BLM's Mother Lode Field Office worked with partners to create and install innovative new interpretive kiosks and signs along a popular recreational hiking trail and the abandoned route of the historic West Side logging railroad.http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/602-westsidetrail.html

AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS

New push for Bodie Hills conservation underway (Mammoth Times, 11/21/13)
A push to gain national monument status for the Bodie Hills is underway, led by a 52-year-old veteran in environment and trails conservation. "The BLM is now administering national monuments and other national conservation lands as a system. The BLM, instead of being a land disposal agency, is becoming a land conservation agency for the 21st Century. The BLM doesn't build Visitor Centers. It provides opportunities for gateway communities - in this case, Bridgeport north and west of the Bodie Hills, and Lee Vining south of the Bodie Hills. Those are the two gateway communities."http://mammothtimes.com/content/new-push-bodie-hills-conservation-underway

Related: Funnybytes - The Curse of the Stolen Artifacts (Youtube Video)
Protectors of ancient artifacts reach across the centuries - to the dismay of modern-day plunderers. Based on a true story.http://youtu.be/qA3_TBLi1HY

BLM SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES...

BLM California Facebook Photo:Enjoy the colors of Thanksgiving in these fall photos from Shelley Ellis, a Biologist out of the Ridgecrest Field Office. Grape leaves in Sand Canyon, CA.http://www.facebook.com/BLMCalifornia

My Public Lands Tumblr PostBob Wick, BLM-California Wilderness Program Lead, shares photos from Rainbow Basin Natural Area. Located just 8 miles from Barstow, Rainbow Basin is set a world apart. Travel here and you'll see an amazing array of colorful rock formations that have been twisted in time...angles and edges formed by faulting, folding, and erosion.http://tmblr.co/Z9wNeu_xrYsK

There may be a turkey on the table for Thanksgiving, but watch out for their wild cousins! A wild turkey just might:
(a.) Give you turkey flu
(b.) Bite you back
(c.) Transmit gobbler fever
(d.) Beat the stuffing out of you
(e.) Make you gain weightSee answer - and more wildlife stories - near the end of this News.bytes.

Bill to quicken permit decisions on gas pipeline projects passes House (The Modesto Bee, 11/21/13)The House voted 252-165 to approve the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, which will require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to meet a 12-month deadline for approving or rejecting proposed pipeline projects. All other federal agencies responsible for licensing pipelines would have to act within 90 days after FERC releases its final environmental report. http://www.modbee.com/2013/11/21/3045297/bill-to-quicken-permit-decisions.html

BLM okay's Ruby Pipeline again after new review (San Jose Mercury News, 11/21/13)
Federal land managers intend to reissue a right of way for a 678-mile mile natural gas pipeline from Wyoming to Oregon now that government scientists have completed a second environmental review they say corrects deficiencies in the first one struck down by a U.S. appeals court. The pipeline has been transporting natural gas from the Rocky Mountain area to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California since July 2011.http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_24572859/blm-okays-ruby-pipeline-again-after-new-review

California Congresswoman Seeks Offshore Fracking Moratorium (Huffungton Post, 11/20/13)
Rep. Lois Capps called for a moratorium on offshore fracking in federal waters...requesting a comprehensive study of its environmental and public health impacts. In a related letter to the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency calling for the moratorium and study, Capps cited records detailing at least 15 incidents of fracking in federal waters off California over the last two decades. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/offshore-fracking-moratorium_n_4309571.html

HEADLINES and HIGHLIGHT

Kiosk unveiled at south dunes ranger station (The Yuma Sun, 11/23/13)
A new interpretive kiosk at the Buttercup Ranger Station in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) was unveiled Friday afternoon. The kiosk was made possible through more than $15,000 in combined grant money provided from Imperial County and Kawasaki Motors Corp. This will be the first interpretive kiosk to be installed at the relatively new ranger station in the south dunes. Also during the unveiling Friday, Kawasaki donated a brand new 2013 Teryx 750 4x4 off road vehicle to be used by the volunteers and BLM employees at Buttercup Ranger Station. The new off road vehicle replaces an older model Teryx.
http://www.yumasun.com/articles/kiosk-90789-station-dunes.html

Related Photo: Kiosk unveiled at south dunes ranger station (The Yuma Sun, 11/23/13)
Kawasaki rep. Scott Shaffstall hands over the keys of a 2013 Teryx 750 to BLM-El Centro Field Manager Tom Zale...Friday afternoon following the unveiling of the kiosk at Buttercup Ranger Station. For the past six years Kawasaki has donated such an off-road vehicle used in the south dunes by volunteers and BLM staff to increase medical services, pick up trash and hand out safety information.
http://www.yumasun.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=90789

BLM DUI Checkpoint in Effect on Public Lands Throughout Imperial County (BLM News, 11/26/13)
Law Enforcement Officers of the Bureau of Land Management are conducting a driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoint from November 26, 2013 through December 1, 2013, on public lands in the un-incorporated area of Imperial County, to include the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, between the hours of 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/november/CDD-14-9DUIcheckpoint.html

BLM Opens OHV Training Course at El Mirage OHV Area (BLM News, 11/26/13)
The Barstow Field Office announces the opening of a new OHV Skills Development and Training Course at the El Mirage Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Area on Saturday, February 8, 2014. The OHV development project, made possible through a grant from the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division, will serve to teach safe and proper riding techniques and improve basic riding skills for visitors of all ages.http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/november/CDD-14-10OHVcourse.html

NATIONAL, OTHER STATE AND DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR ITEMS

This Week at Interior, November 22, 2013 (DOI video)
Secretary Jewell joins National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis and other dignitaries to mark the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address; the Secretary travels to South Carolina's Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge to talk about private/public conservation efforts, and investigate coastal erosion due to climate change; the President's all-of-the-above energy strategy pays big dividends, as Interior disburses $14.2 billion to local communities; and USGS locates the oldest seawater on Earth.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnXeTehVKVM

The Wild Turkey (The National Wild Turkey Federation website)
The comeback of wild turkeys in North America is arguably the greatest conservation success story in history. It is estimated that there are more than 7 million wild turkeys in the United States, Canada and Mexico primarily due to the success of state and provincial restoration programs, improved habitat management and increased conservation efforts focusing on population status assessment and harvest regulation.http://www.nwtf.org/NAWTMP/about_wild_turkeys.html

Pheasant, wild turkey seasons open (Lake County Record-Bee, 11/6/13)
Two of the more popular hunting seasons open...pheasant and wild turkey. Despite the abundance of the birds, fall turkey hunting still hasn't caught on among California hunters. Many of the hunters are concentrating on waterfowl, quail or pheasants. However, for those few dedicated turkey hunters the fall season can be as exciting as the spring season.http://www.record-bee.com/outdoors/ci_24464485/pheasant-wild-turkey-seasons-open-saturday

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
In spite of its large size and rather awkward appearance, the wild turkey is a powerful flier, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph over short distances. Turkeys will most often fly hard and fast up through the treetops, then set their wings and glide back to the ground. Benjamin Franklin wanted wild turkeys to be our national symbol instead of the bald eagle. He felt that the stately, majestic qualities of the wild turkey would make it a fine symbol for the new country ... Wild turkeys are found in many areas across the U.S. and part of Ontario ... However, this is following a major re-introduction effort that was first successful after four failed attempts.http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-52511--,00.html

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